Max Verstappen starts this weekend at the Dutch Grand Prix from pole position in front of his adoring fans. Photo: Reuters/Stephanie Lecoq < p>There are those who will tell you that this Formula 1 season has become a little boring, so was the complete and absolute dominance of Red Bull and Max Verstappen. Twelve consecutive victories for the team from Milton Keynes; 22 of the last 23 are from last season. Of course, these statistics will make F1 executives and producers of Netflix Drive to Survive wince. There is no surer way to lose your hard-won fans than by constantly feeding them the same victories.
But try telling that to the hundreds of thousands of fans who are making the pilgrimage to Zandvoort this weekend, swarming over the dunes surrounding this coastal circuit like orange ants in Verstappen 33 T-shirts, eager to see the man himself. When Verstappen made his first lap in FP1 on Friday, the Orange Army stood up to greet him, shaking their fists and cheering.
Although Verstappen was born in Hasselt, outside of Flemish-speaking Belgium, the two-time Red Bull world champion is a real hero here. «Possibly the biggest sports superstar in the Netherlands since Johan Cruyff,» one breathless journalist suggested to him at a press conference on Thursday. There is no easy way to measure such things. Suffice it to say that Verstappen is of great importance.
The Orange Army is present in Zandvoort Photo: Getty Images/Peter Fox
It's a big deal who has the chance and set one of the biggest Formula 1 records this weekend. If he wins his home Grand Prix on Sunday as expected (Verstappen beat McLaren's Lando Norris to take pole by 0.6 seconds), it will be his ninth trot victory, equaling the record set by Sebastian Vettel, also with Red Bull. in 2013.
The Red Bull player is collecting records at an incredible rate. Sunday's win will be his 46th F1 win, almost half of Lewis Hamilton's 103 wins to date. And Verstappen is still only 25, 13 years younger than the statistical Formula 1 GOAT.
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Barring mishaps or atypical mistakes, most of his rivals expect him to win not only every race this season, but most races until 2026 when the new chassis rules come into effect and engines. By then, he will probably be a five-time world champion.
Faced with such compelling evidence, it seems absurd to ask how good Verstappen is. How he deserves his place in the pantheon of all-time Formula 1. But given that the RB19 is arguably the most dominant car in F1 history — the MP4/4 McLaren that won 15 out of 16 races in 1988 could challenge that title, or the W05 Mercedes — that question has been asked by just about every driver who has come here in this weekend. George Russell said that «10 riders» could compete for victories and championships if they were put in one car.
But no one found fault with Verstappen's claims to greatness. “I can happily say that I consider him one of the best drivers in the history of Formula 1,” said Lando Norris from McLaren. «No doubt. It would be great to see him fight a little more and make more money for a living. But I think he proved it enough when he raced Lewis in 2021. He showed what a fighter he is.»
Lando Norris was often Verstappen's closest competitor in the later rounds. Photo: Getty Images/Mark Thompson
Interestingly, Norris noted that Verstappen was always groomed for glory as he was the son of former racing driver Jos «Boss» Verstappen. He believed he was developmentally behind, perhaps «by four years». But despite this, Norris argued that we should all appreciate Verstappen's talent a little more, and not take what he does «for granted». Winning race after race is not easy, even with the best car.
The truth is that it's not always easy to keep warm with Verstappen. He can be irritable, as he showed by refusing to give Pérez a pair of points in Brazil last year as retribution for an alleged offense earlier in the season. “Yeah, he didn’t get what he did just trying to please people,” was Norris’s verdict. Max is a winner. He is passionate. I think we should definitely witness something like this. I think it's better than just complaining because he's doing well.»
If he wins again on Sunday and takes one step closer to a third title that could be won in Japan next a month with seven races of the season still left, no doubt, in some circles there will be new groans. This is not a snub to Verstappen or Red Bull. The same moans were heard when Michael Schumacher and Hamilton smashed their rivals. The «Orange Army» will not care.
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